Note: I had posted this thread on another audio site and copied the title. For whatever reason, it got cut off. The correct title of this thread is "Is there a difference between an .aiff/.wav downloaded from the Internet and one ripped from a CD?"

I have read threads in the past about how ripped copies of tracks from CDs in lossless formats are slightly lesser in quality than the original copies on the CD, but now I am wondering if there is a difference between copies downloaded from the Internet and ones on a CD. I am assuming that a lossless track downloaded from the web is a perfect copy, considering there is no grey area to consider (the quality of the CD, how efficient your DVD ROM drive is, what program you are using to rip and how well that works). I buy music from sites such as Beatport, Discogs, and Bandcamp, all of which seem to give pleasing results. I guess I am trying to ask, what is the difference between how you obtain lossless music from the web and how you obtain it from a CD? I know, there is a bunch of technical stuff that goes into ripping music from a CD, but how do online music stores sell lossless music?